Cotton-chopping machine.



H. V. JOBE.

COTTON CHOPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.I7, 1913.

'5 1. 91 IT m 3 H Am 2 n m a [N VEN T 01? a; Attorney WITNESSES THENORRIS PETERS CO" PHOTYJ-LITHOH WASHINGIUN, D C.

- H. V. JOBE.

COTTON CHOPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I7, 1913.

Ku 1 9 1 00 1 R p A d m n a D 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lNVE/V T 015' 2 r Altorney THE NORRIS PETERS 50.. PHOTO-LITHO..WASHINGTON. D C.

HUGH V. JOBE, OF ROLL, OKLAHOMA.

COTTON-GHOPPING- MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915..

Application filed March 17, 1913. Serial No. 754,879.

1 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH V. JOBE, citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Roll, in the county of Roger Mills and State of Oklahoma,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-ChoppingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cotton chopping machines and the purposethereof is to provide an implement of novel structure, particularlyadapted for thinning rows of cotton plants, and embodies mechanism fordestroying the weeds and other plants of a like nature growing betweenthe said rows.

A further object of the invention contemplates the provision of animproved cotton chopping machine which is well adapted to chop the youngcotton plants, and which is provided with scrapers of the disk or platevariety, for working in front of the chopper, to destroy weeds and thelike, and carry the same to either side, thus leaving the cotton in anarrow space and in condition to be subsequently chopped by a suitablereciprocatory blade carried by the machine.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision ofmeans for intermittently operating or moving the chopping blade acrossthe row of growing cotton.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for elevating theblade above the row of plants in a position incapable of choppingoperation, this being accomplished without stopping the reciprocatorymovement thereof, or in any way effecting the progress of the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for guiding orcontrolling the direction of travel of the machine from the operatorsseat.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as areillustrated in their preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings,described in the following specification and then more parti cularlypointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part ofthis application. 1

In describing my invention in detail reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1is a side elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine. Fig. 3 is a sectionon line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a section on line H of Fig. 2.

Proceeding now to the description of the drawings, wherein isillustrated the preferred form of my invention, the numeral 1 designatesa wheeled-frame or the main frame of the machine upon which isconveniently mounted, an operators seat 2 of the ordinary type and atongue 3. The said tongue 3 is pivotally mounted as at 4 upon a suitableplate 5, the said plate being supported upon the converged or taperedend 6 of the frame. The rear extremity of the tongue 3 is provided witha segmental rack 7 adapted to mesh with a pinion 8 keyed or otherwisesecured upon the lower extremity of a vertically extending rod 9, thesaid rod being supported directly in front of the to guide the machineas desired over the row of cotton plants to be chopped, and that thedirection of travel may be shifted or varied by simply swinging thehandle 10 in either direction.

Scrapers 12 are adjustably mounted by means of a thumb-screw 13 withinsuitable castings 1 1 secured, one upon each of the tapering frameportions 6, the said scrapers being preferably set on an incline to thehorizontal, and worked upon either side of the row of cotton tothoroughly scrape and clean between the rows, thereby removing all weedsor similar undesirable plants.

A second or supplementary frame 15 is pivotally mounted upon the rearextremity of the main frame 3 by means of a pair of L-shaped brackets 16having an elongated aperture 17 formed therein, pins 18 or the mainframe are adapted to extend through the said apertures for pivotally andadjustably mounting the saidsupplementary frame 15.

.is accomplishedby means of a crank shaft 22 journaled within bearings23 secured to the main frame of the machine near the forward end thereofand controlled by a suitable hand lever 2 f operated in connection witha quadrant secured to one of the said frame sides; An offset portion 26of the said crank shaft-is connected to another offset portion 27 formedupon a cross bar 28 by means of a connecting bar or red 29, the said bar28 being fixedly secured to the supplementary frame at a point near thecenter thereof. The operation of the lever 24, which is keyed orotherwise secured rigidly upon the crank shaft 22 will cause thelatterto turn, thusraising the offset portion 26, which in turn raisesthe entire *rear or supplementary frame 15, the same being swung upon;the pins 18 by reason of the brackets 16 afiording such pivotalconnection. r A v p Caster Wheels 30 are revolubly mounted as at 31 uponthe lower extremity of a depending arm 32, the said arm being adjustablymounted ina suitable caster 33 provided for that purpose and securedupon the rear inner face of the frame sides 1. The said wheels 30 arenormally out of engagement with the ground, but upon raising thesupplementary frame by the operation of the lever 24, the rear end ofthe main frame 1 is tilted, thereby bringing the said wheels 30 intoengagement with the ground, the said wheels supporting the main frame asdesired. 7

Having described in detail the construction of the machine, the mannerin which the chopping operation is accomplished will now be described.The'main orwheel shaft 34 upon which the supporting wheels of themachine are mounted is provided near one end thereof with an enlargement35, one face I of which is provided with teeth 36, the purpose of whichwill subsequently appear. Slidably and loosely mounted upon the saidmain shaft 3e adjacent the enlargement 35 I provide a sprocket wheel 37having a sleeve 38 formed integrally therewith and projectin'g from oneface thereof, the said sleeve terminating at one end in a toothed face39 adapted to register or mesh with the toothed face 36 of theenlargement when the said sprocket is slid upon the said shaftsufficiently to bring the two faces together. The means employed forsliding the sprocket 37 comprises a suitable lever 38 pivoted as at 39upon a bracket 40, the said bracket having a quadrant or rack 41 formedthereupon and secured as at 42 to one of the frame sides 1 of themachine. A rod 43 is secured at one end to the sprocket 37 and at itsopposite end as at 4d to the lower extremity of the said lever, therebyallowing the sprocket to be freely shifted or slid upon the shaft 34:according to the movement of the said lever 38. A flanged?) is formedupon the said shaft 34: near the end thereof upon the inner face ofwhich a suitable expansion spring 46 is secured, the said spring beingdisposed upon the shaft and engaging the outer face of the sprocket 37for normally forcing the said sprocket laterally upon the shaft duringthe manipulation or movement of the said hand lever 38. A smaller shaft47 is journaled within suitable bearings 48 secured to the forward endof the rear or supplementary frame 15, the said shaft 47 extendingparallel with the main shaft 34 and having keyed or otherwise fixedlysecured at one end thereof a sprocket wheel 49 which is connected to thesprocket wheel'37 by means of a suitable sprocket chain 50, the saidchain being adapted to impart movement from the main shaft 34:

to the said smaller shaft 47 of the rear frame.

sprocket 51 being smaller than the sprocket 49, whereupon a fasterrotation of the shaft is, generated by shifting the chain 50 from thelarger to the smaller of the sprockets. The opposite end of the smallshaft terminates in a bevel gear 52 in mesh with a pinion 53 rigidlymounted upon a longitudinally extending crank shaft 5d journaled withinsuitable brackets 55 and supported by the rear or supplementary frame15. An arm 56 is loosely mounted upon the offset portion 57 of the crankshaft 54: by means of a specially constructed bracket or casting 58, thesaid arm 56 being held in the desired position'by means of a roller 59beneath which it passes, the said roller being supported through themedium of a pair of vertically extending arms 60. By the disposition ofthe arm 56 beneath the roller it will be recognized that the arm 56 isat all times held in operative position and will allow the bladesupporting rod 61 which is secured to the inner end thereof by means ofthe bracket 58 to be freely reciprocated by the rotation of the crankshaft 54-. A culf 62 is formed upon the bracket 58 provided with a setscrew 63 for adjustably mounting the rod 61 within the said bracket, thesaid rod 61 having a cutting blade 64 secured upon the lower extremitythereof, the said blade being reciprocated in the desired man ner by themovement of the arm 56 and shaft 54.

It will be seen from the above, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings that the power necessary for operating thereciprocatory blade 64 is generated by the forward movement of themachine and entirely controlled by the rotation of the main shaft 34upon which the supporting wheels are mounted, the said wheels beingrigidly mounted upon the said shaft to rotate the latter by the movementof the machine; that the disposition of the several hand levers is suchas to permit convenient operation thereof by the operator from his seat;and that the rear or supplementary frame may be raised or lifted into aninoperative position without stopping or otherwise impeding the progressof the machine.

Attention is also called to the novel and peculiar manner in which themachine is guided or controlled by the operation of the handle 10, andto the means employed for supporting the cutting or chopping blade 64 ina vertical position capable of cutting crosswise the row over which themachine is traveling.

It will be understood that the above description and accompanyingdrawings comprehend only the general and preferred embodiment of myinvention and that various minor changes in the details of construction,proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of theappended claims and without sacrificing any of the advantages of myinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what ll claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A cotton chopping machine including a main frame, a supplementaryframe, brackets secured thereto, the said brackets each being providedwith an elongated slot, means carried by the said main frame adapted toextend through the said slots to provide for pivotal movement of thesaid supplementary frame and for slight longitudinal movement thereofindependent of the said main frame, and means including a pair ofvertically adjustable runners detachably secured to the saidsupplementary frame whereby the said frame may be adjusted verticallyindependent of the said main frame.

2. In combination with a cotton chopping machine, an operating crankshaft, a reciprocatory arm loosely connected to the offset in the saidcrank shaft, a bracket mounted upon one end of the said arm, avertically adjustable blade supporting member carried by the saidbracket, and guide means including an independently mounted rollerarranged over the said arm to normally maintain the said arm at aninclination with respect to the machine, as and for the purpose setforth.

3. A cotton chopping machine including a wheeled main frame, a sprocketwheel loosely mounted upon the main shaft of the said wheel frame,clutch mechanism carried by the main frame for rotating the saidsprocket wheel according to the rotation of the said shaft, a rearsupplementary frame pivotally and detachably secured to the said mainframe, a shaft journaled within bearings secured to the saidsupplementary frame, means connecting the said sprocket wheel to thesaid last mentioned shaft for imparting movement thereto according tothe rotation of the said sprocket, a reciprocatory-cutting blade carriedby the said supplementary frame, means including a plurality of gearsand shafts for operating the said blade, and means carried by the mainframe for elevating the rear frame and lifting the said blade out ofoperative position.

4. A cotton chopping machine including a wheeled main frame, a sprocketwheel loosely mounted upon one end of the main shaft of said frame,clutch mechanism carried by said frame for rotating the said wheelaccording to the rotation of the said shaft, a second shaft mounted uponthe rear frame and extending parallel with the main shaft of themachine, means for connecting the said second mentioned shaft to thesaid wheel for operating the former according to the rotation of themain shaft, a crank shaft carried by the said supplementary frame, therotation of which is controlled by the movement of the said secondmentioned shaft, and means including a crank shaft carried by the mainframe and con nected to the supplementary frame for elevating the latterand lifting the reciprocatory blade out of operative position.

5. In combination with a cotton chopping machine comprising a mainframe, a supplementary frame, and means for swinging the saidsupplementary frame into and out of operative position, of an operatingcrank shaft carried by the said supplementary frame, means for drivingthe said crank shaft during the forward movement of the said main frame,an operating arm loosely connected to the offset in the said crankshaft, a bracket at one end of the said arm, a vertically adjustableblade carrying member supported by the said bracket, and a rollerdisposed at one side of the said supplementary frame and over the saidarm to provide a stop therefor and to maintain the said arm normally atan inclination with respect to the said supplementary frame, as and forthe purpose set forth.

6. In a cotton chopping machine, the combination of a main frame, a mainshaft having wheels secured upon each end thereof upon which the-saidframe is supported, a sprocket wheel loosely mountedupon the said mainshaft, spring controlled clutch mechanism for rotating the said sprocketWheel according to the rotation ofthe said 'shaft and means carried bythe said frame for operating the said clutch mechanism, of asupplementary framepivotally connected to the rear end of said, mainframe, a shaft journaled within bearings secured to the saidsupplementary frame, means for connecting the said shaft to the saidsprocket wheel for imparting movement to the said shaft, a crank shaftcarried by the said supplementary frame, bevel gears for rotating thesaid crank shaft according to the movement of the said second mentionedshaft, and means including a reciprocatory blade carried by the saidcrank shaft for effecting the chopping operation. a a

' 7. In a cotton chopping machine, the combination'of a main frame, amain shaft having Wheels mounted upon each end thereof for supportingthe said frame, a sprocket wheel loosely mounted upon the said shaft,

clutch mechanism carried by said frame for rotating the said wheelaccording to the movement of said shaft, and means including a handlever carried by said frame for operating the said clutch mechanism, ofa supplementary frame pivotally mounted to the rear end of said frame,runners adjustably mounted upon said supplementary frame for supportingthe same, a crank shaft carried by said frame, means including aplurality of gears and shafts for rotating the said crank shaftaccording to the movement of said sprocket wheel, a reciprocatory bladecarried by said crank shaft and means including a crank shaft carried bythe said main frame and connecting the supplementary frame for elevatingthe latter for lifting the said blade out of operative position.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in'presence of two witnesses.

HUGH V. J OBE. Witnesses:

A. FALCONER, D. N. HUNT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

